This morning, Point Fish Fry & A Flick announced that it will make a triumphant return to the lakefront late this summer. The fish-enhanced film festivities start up once again at Discovery World on July 18 at 5 p.m. – the movies themselves start rolling at dusk – and run every other week through Sept. 19 (save for an extra week off in late August).

As with last year, the free film series also offers a Wisconsin fish fry brought to you by Bartolotta Restaurants and tasty, hoppy beverages provided by Stevens Point Brewery.

One important detail left out of this morning’s press release? The flicks to be shown. The lineup – bumped back up to five screenings from just three last year – will be revealed on May 19, but until then, allow me to throw some ideas – and a few hopeful stretches – into the ring (add your own picks in the comments). Fingers crossed for five screenings of "Heaven Is for Real"!

What better way to wash down a night of beer, friends, fish and chips than with a movie about beer, friends, fish and chips (OK, not the last two, but it takes place in Britain so we can assume)?

"The World’s End" isn’t exactly the blockbuster Fish Fry & A Flick usually goes for, like last year’s trifecta of "Ted," "The Avengers" and "Django Unchained" (it managed to get outgrossed by the secretly massive flop "R.I.P.D., which takes some doing), but I’d say it qualifies a strong cult selection. Plus, it’s hilarious, throwing jokes, catchphrases and awesomely entertaining man vs. robot action sequences around with kinetic yet precise glee.

If "The World’s End" isn’t one of the flick picks (a movie about alcoholism admittedly might not flow the best with a night of beer-soaked festivities, but hey, it’s not "Flight"), I will also accept Edgar Wright’s "Hot Fuzz," "Shaun of the Dead" or "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." All are delightfully energetic, funny and action packed enough to satisfy all.

The Wisconsin State Fair is still many months away, but it’s not quite too early to start the anticipation.

It was in that spirit that the fair held its 100 Days to the Fair Preview at the State Fair Exposition Center Monday night. Many of the fair’s vendors and foundation members were in attendance, as well as cream puffs (or at least cream puff boxes, with one six-pack adorning every table at the event).

The celebration mainly served as a pep rally, with attendants asked to sign in on a large white sign with not their name, but why they love the State Fair. The results ranged from the expected (cream puffs) to the somewhat less expected (people watching) to the amusingly vague (fun!). Most importantly, however, the event was an elaborate thank you to the various vendors scattered around the event, meeting, greeting, sharing tales from the past year and enjoying the free grilled cheese sandwiches, nachos, fried pickles and cookie pops making the rounds on the floor.

After about an hour of munching, casual conversation and live cover songs being played in the background, State Fair Park CEO Rick Frenette took the blue-lit stage to address the crowd, say some thanks and give a shout out to the 2014 Main Stage lineup, including Aretha Franklin, Phil Vassar, 311, Alabama and the main headliner Lady Antebellum.

That was the general vibe of the evening, less a news event than a pleasantly festive calendar reminder, albeit one that served grilled cheese and cookie pops. However, there were a few notable parts to the evening.

For one, the winner of the inaugural Fairtastic Poster Art Competition, Larry Schultz of Milton, was in attendance with his winning design on display, shaking hands and talking about the inspirations for the poster.

"I’m a horse man, so the draft horse show just sticks out to me as something big about the State Fair," Schultz said. "Then, of course, the dairy and the pigs and the animals period. And then there’s all of the food that’s here a…

When Arnold Schwarzenegger made his brief uncredited cameo in 2010’s "The Expendables," it seemed to signal the former superstar’s return from political exile to his native, ass-kicking action movie habitat.

Four years later, the comeback hasn’t gone as planned.

"The Expendables 2," featuring an expanded Governator presence, grossed less than its predecessor. As he stepped further into the spotlight with true lead roles in last year’s "The Last Stand" and "Escape Plan," the results, quality wise, were lukewarm at best.

Meanwhile, at the box office, lukewarm would be considered an improvement. While his last two efforts played well abroad, domestically they stand alongside the failed Conan spin-off "Red Sonja" as the worst grossing films in his career (and generally speaking, it’s never a good thing to be mentioned in the same sentence as "Red Sonja").

Blame it on poor material (the old jokes have become exactly that). Blame it on his broken-down public image – or, perhaps worse yet for an action hero, his broken-down body. Blame it on the fact that he’s the face of a type of innocently dumb, sincerely mindless action movie that doesn’t play with today’s cynical, grittier tastes. The fact of the matter is the general public is telling Arnold to talk to the hand.

Instead of licking his wounds and safely heading back to familiar territory, however, "Sabotage" finds Schwarzenegger briefly pushing his persona in a new direction. It’s not simply that the film is unexpectedly more murder mystery than action thriller; "Sabotage" is easily the most unpleasant, most vulgar and most violent movie on Arnold’s resume. Credit where credit is due for trying something new, but considering the film’s startlingly mean, brainlessly scummy ugliness, it qualifies merely as a not-quite-noble failure.

About Matt Mueller

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.